Tuesday, December 30, 2008

JB (MG Ramachandran) is a wealthy industrialist who decides to take a break at his Simla home away from business concerns. He lands there to find that his caretaker has rented his house to Geeta's (Saroja Devi)'s family, taken the rent and left for Kasi with his wife. His daughter Manorama and brother in law Nagesh are left in charge of the house and the guests. JB decides not to reveal his idenity and pretends to be a wealthy man, Balu, willing to pay rent for a place in the house. Nagesh takes the money and gives him JB's room. He keeps playing practical jokes on Geetha hand they keep clashing. She brings her friends who are on a trip to Simla and tries to drive JB from the house. After he gets the friends on his side, she gets angry and tells her parents to get her married to Asokan, a relative and an air force pilot. By the time Balu confesses his love for her, Geetha's engagement is already fixed. Asokan turns out to be a school friend of JB's but he also agrees to play along with the trick. Asokan discovers that Balu and Sarojadevi are actually in love with each other and steps aside. When Balu is finally revealed as JB, Geetha thinks that the wedding plans are yet another of Balu's practical jokes and tries to run away. He finds her and all misunderstandings are cleared. The two get married.

Friday, December 26, 2008

While the descen dents of Puratchi Thalaivar MGR are squabbling over his wealth, the house that he lived in during his early days lies in shambles. The late M.G. Ramachandran lived in a rented house on N S C Bose Road, Sowcarpet with his mother Sathyabhama and the family of his elder brother M G Chakrapani, before he made it big in the film world and then went on to become the chief minister. “After the release of Mandhiri Kumaari, the house owner suggested that MGR shift to a better place to accommodate more visi- tors and fans,” said Palani, an ardent fan of MGR, who lives near the house. Muthaliyar, who owned the building, later sold it. However, no one lives in the well-designed traditional house now. At present a portion of the place is used by a betel leaf trader. The wooden steps and beautiful ceilings of the building are ruined.“After he became the chief minister, he visited the house in 1984 during the heavy flood that affect ed Madras city. He distributed rice, dhothis, sarees and Rs 100 to each of his poor neighbours in the street,” Sreedhar said recalling MGR’s last visit.

It is 17th century Tamil Nadu. The Poligars are the rulers of the Madurai region. A prince is born with the umbilical cord wound around his neck. The court astrologer predicts disaster for the royal family persuading him to abandon the infant in the forest. The infant is rescued by the cobbler. He grows up to be Veeran who becomes commandant of the army and who gets married to a princess. The king of Madurai requests Veeran to rescue his kingdom from dacoits. While in madurai, Veeran falls in love with the court dancer who is also coveted by the king. The king executes Veeran. The two women die in sorrow. All three attain godhold and rise to heaven.

Ponnambalam (K Sarangapani) cheats his sister out of her property and kills her husband. She escapes the communal riots in Karachi during Partition and reaches Madras on the eve of Indian Independence along with her son, Nataraj (MG Ramachandran) and daughter, Leela (PK Saraswathi). Ponnambalam implicates Nataraj in a criminal case and has him jailed. He marries Leela who feigns insanity. Once out of jail, Nataraj takes revenge on Ponnambalam and is sent back to prison.

This is a film with a fascinating story behind it, but few are aware of it. En Thangai was a popular stage play by T. S. Natarajan (who came to be known as ‘En Thangai’ Natarajan). In a quirk of fate, Sivaji Ganesan, virtually unknown at that time, played the hero on stage, whereas it was MGR who played it in the movie!Around the same period, another play titled ‘Parasakthi’ was also making waves and noted writer-director of his day A. S. A. Sami was approached by some producers to make it into a film. Having watched both the plays which had a similar storyline — that of a brother’s undying love for his sister — Sami suggested that the plays could be merged and made into a film, but Natarajan who had by then become famous refused to even hear of it. Parasakthi had to wait for some more time to create history with Sivaji Ganesan as hero on screen.Initially, the then popular playback singer Tiruchi Loganathan was made to play the loving brother in En Thangai, directed by Telugu-Tamil filmmaker C. H. Narayanamurthi and M. K. R. Nambiar. After a few reels were shot, the director and the producers realised their hero was a better singer than actor, and halted production. Exit Loganathan!The search for a hero began. MGR met Nambiar, his good friend, and others connected with the production. Impressed with his enthusiasm to play the role, with which he had a personal equation, MGR was cast as the hero. The movie tells the story of a loving brother who sacrifices his all to look after his young, blind sister (E. V. Saroja) who puts up with the taunts and torture of her proud sister-in-law (Madhuri Devi).(MGR had a sister and soon after the family migrated from Sri Lanka to Kumbakonam following his father’s demise, the sister too passed away mainly because of lack of medical facilities. The loss of his baby sister left an indelible mark on MGR’s psyche. MGR lived the role of a caring brother on screen, which paved the way for the success of the film.)Narasimha Bharathi as a hen-pecked husband and the elder brother of the blind girl and M. G. Chakrapani as the father-in-law lent able support.Expectedly, the success of the film led to its being remade by the same team and Narayanamurthi in Telugu as Naa Chellelu.L. V. Prasad created history in Hindi cinema by remaking it as Choti Behn (1959), where the blind girl’s role was played by a young Nanda who soon rose to be a star. The loving brother’s role was played with great conviction by Balraj Sahni.Remembered for its emotion drenched storyline and MGR’s role as a loving brother, considered by critics as one of his best performances ever.

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

One of the founding fathers of the Renaissance of Tamil theatre Sankaradas Swamigal wrote a play 'Cymbeline' based on one of the lesser-known plays of William Shakespeare. Even though it had an interesting story line it did not prove popular, perhaps because of the foreign-sounding title, and remains a neglected work of Swamigal.In 1941 K. S. Narayana Iyengar, a noted Tamil film producer of his day and partner in Narayanan & Co, a popular production unit, showed interest in filming this play, thanks to his manager and right hand man, K. P. Varadachari. Hailing from Salem, Varadachari was deeply interested like most educated men of that era, in Western Literature and of course, Shakespeare. Accordingly, Iyengar launched the film under the title "Chaya", which was written by Varadachari.T. V. Kumudhini, singing actress of her day who made a mark in H. M. Reddi's "Maathru Bhoomi", was chosen to play the female lead. M. G. Ramachandran was fixed to play the hero.After his debut in Ellis R. Dungan's "Sathi Leelavathi" (1936), his career was rather dull with only supporting roles in mostly unsuccessful films. Inspite of his handsome looks and impressive physique and experience in Tamil theatre he could not make much progress and the first major break to play the hero came his way with "Chaya".To direct the film the well known Hindi filmmaker Nandlal Jaswantlal was fixed. A successful Hindi filmmaker of his day, he was brought to Madras by pioneer filmmaker K. Subramanyam to direct his brother K. Viswanathan's film "Kamadhenu" (1941) in which his niece 'Baby' Saroja, her mother Vatsala and father Vatsal (Viswanathan) played the major roles.Nandlal Jaswantlal had made a name even during the 1930s for his innovative style of filmmaking. During the period when lengthy takes were the order of the day he made waves with short 'takes' with some shots of less than five feet in length (running time 3 seconds!) which was then a novelty especially in South Indian Cinema. His early hits included "Prem Jogan" (1931), "Jeevan Saathi" (1939). In later years he made box office bonanzas like "Anarkali" (1953) and "Nagin"(1954).Shooting of "Chaya" began and Nandlal in his virulent visual style shot some sequences of MGR and Kumudhini riding horses in and around the famous Monroe Statue in Mount Road area, Madras. He insisted that they should be trained in horse riding on location and inspected the training sessions with a hawk's eye!For some reasons the director was not impressed with MGR's performance and wanted the hero to be replaced. Narayana Iyengar, Varadachari and S. Soundararajan (Tamil Nadu Talkies) who was also involved in this production, refused to oblige the director because Soundararajan felt the handsome hero had a bright future and had no intention of destroying it.However Jaswantlal was adamant threatening to walk out of the film, and reluctantly P. U. Chinnappa was brought in. Advertisements about the release of "Chaya" with Chinnappa were released, but somehow the producers felt the Bombay- based director had lost interest in the project and was eager to get back home. Consequently "Chaya" was closed down, never seeing the light of day again. It was a severe body blow for MGR and he had to wait another seven years before he played the hero again in "Rajakumari".However Varadachari did not give up his desire and ambition. After a lapse of some years he persuaded Soundararaja Iyengar to launch the movie. The Tamil Nadu Talkies boss had plans to make low budget films with new faces based on stories from Western lite

Ramu(MGR) is the cowardly one - the heir to all riches of Poonjolai jamin. He has been raised that way by his uncle Narendran(Nambiar). Ramu shivers at the very mention of his uncle's name and a whiplash is Narendran's favorite form of punishment. Narendran wants to get Ramu married to Leela(Saroja Devi) but she is turned off by his cowardice. Ilango(MGR) is a jobless young man, prone to pick a fight and for this reason, the cause of trouble for his mother. Circumstances lead to Ramu and Ilango taking each others' place. Ilango teaches a lesson to Narendran while Ramu learns the ways of the world.Nowadays, the theme of mixed identities invariably leads to comedies with the laughs being raised through the ways the look-alikes don't fit into their new environments. The 'fish out of water' scenario is the one most often used. But here the two MGRs fit into their new roles quite well. The fun is in the way the others around them react to the changes in them. Ilango taking the place of Ramu is easily the hands-down winner in this. The first instance where MGR slaps Nambiar is memorable and exhilarating with the reactions of Nambiar and Thangavelu perfectly conveying their surprise. Ofcourse the Naan Aanaiyittaal... song sequence is the pinnacle with MGR giving Nambiar a taste of his own medicine. The position of Ramu(in Ilango's place) is only marginally interesting as the listless romance with Rathna is the only major thing happening. Thankfully, the actions of Ilango are concentrated upon as he is wooed by Saroja Devi and hated by Nambiar and co. The revelation of the switch is handled neatly and the emotions of the heroines are not carried on for too long. But the subsequent story that digs into the pasts of the two look-alikes is confusing and extends the movie unnecessarily. One interesting thing to see in older movies in how well they stand up when watched today. Though Enga Veettu Pillai is undeniably entertaining even today, there do exist a few instances which stand out awkwardly. Special effects which make the dual roles possible don't compare favorably even to the effects in Uthama Puthiran. The subservient role of women is quite obvious in the way Saroja Devi, who is introduced as a 'modern' woman, gleefully accepts the demand of a dowry. The lament of Pandaribai about wanting to die at Nambiar's feet after he has slapped her and walked out is quite irritating. On the other hand, the fact that the entire meal that MGR has in the hotel costs only six Rupees is bound to make people who lived then sigh in nostalgia! Nagesh was a permanent feature in movies released during those times and is at hand here too. His mispronounciation of words is quite funny at several places and leads to many quick laughs. But the extended sequences, like the one where Thangavelu discovers his romance with his daughter, are a lot less funnier. MGR distinguishes well between the two roles though it is quite obvious he is more at ease as the brave Ilango. His strict adherence to his enduring 'good samaritan' image is obvious in the way he apologises before uttering a single lie to his mother and speaks out against dowry. Saroja Devi is more irritating than endearing with her attempts to be cute. Nambiar plays the role he has played to perfection in countless other MGR movies. Needless to say, the movie has some great songs. Kumari Pennin Ullathile... and Maandhoppu Kaavalkaara... are the melodious duets. Naan Aanaiyittaal... has enough political overtones that show how effectively MGR used the medium of cinema.

Parthiban (SA Natarajan), son of the royal priest, is crestfallen at not being made the army commandant. To get at the new commandant, Veeramohan (MG Ramachandran), he takes to crime, looting and robbing. The imbecile king has no control of the situation. His daughter Jeeva (G Shakunthala) loves Veeramohan. Meanhwhile the minister’s daughter, Amudavalli (Madhuri Devi) grows fond of Parthiban not knowing about his evil side. When she finds out, she tries to reform him. To get rid of her, parthiban takes her to a mountain peak and threatens to push her down. However, she outwits him and kills him instead. She announces his death in the court, only to be killed by the royal priest.

Prince Udaya Suriyan (MG Ramachandran) of Kaveripattinam wins the hand of Princess Kalamalini (Anjali Devi) of Maruda Nadu in a swayamvar by defeating the Maruda general Bhairavan ( PS Veerappa). Bhairavan plots with Durga (S Varalakshmi), who is Kalamalini's best friend and who also loves Udayan to help him get Kalamalini. The plot is to abduct the princess with Durga taking her place. Udayan, however, spots the deception. Kalamalini escapes from the clutches of Bhairavan and returns to the palace, disguised as a dancer. Finally all's well that ends well as she is re-united with Udayan.

Sunday, December 7, 2008

In 1956 Mahadevi was being produced. Kannadasasn wrote a song for a park situation. The kathali would wait for a long time and sleep off. The kathalan would come later and rubs her face gently to wake her up. She wakes up to her shock. Then the song goes. "Naanandri Yaar varuvaar. Ilam Nangai Unai veru Yaar thoduvaar" MGR did not like this song. So Kannadasan replaced it with "Kan Moodum Velayilum kalai enne kalaiye". Kannadasan was wild with MGR. Several other pressures forced him to produce his own film. Two years later in 1958 he took Malayitta Mangai in which he created the same situation and made TR Mahalingam and Mynavathi to act out the song mentioned above. TR Mahalingam made a personal request to Visvanathan Ramamoorthy. People used to believe that TRMahalingam could only sing high pitch songs. He asked for the the lowest possible pitch in the song. Thats how the song became the lowest pitch song of TRM.

T. A. Mathuram promoted a movie company named after husband N. S. Krishnan, mainly to generate money, and a film Paithiakaaran (Madman), based on her troupe’s successful play of the same title, was launched. Written by S. V. Sahasranamam, it drew inspiration from the V. Shantaram classic Duniya Na Mane. The film dealt with socially reformist issues such as remarriage of young widows, elderly father objecting to the widowed daughter remarrying while he marries a young woman as soon as his first wife dies and the young bride refusing to be his wife preferring to treat him as a father, which were ideas ahead of time in Tamil cinema. N. S. Krishnan entered the film while it was under production after serving a 30-month prison sentence following the sensational Lakshmikantham Murder Case. A character was created for him, and Mathuram played a dual role as Valli (teaming up with NSK) and as the heroine. He remained his cheerful, humorous self, cracking jokes and evoking laughter even in prison. Indeed, he had rendered a satirical number about his jail sojourn in ‘Madman’ (that’s how the film was commonly referred to). The song ‘Jailukku Poi Vantha…’, which he sang in his usual breezy style, proved popular and is the only feature of the film that is remembered to this day! In this song, NSK highlighted life in prison, the kinds of prisoners, the good, the bad and the ugly, and how one need not worry about where one’s next meal comes from! A popular song by Kavimani Desigavinayakam Pillai, ‘Paattukkoru Pulavan Bharathiyada…’, was used in the film in a dance sequence enacted by T. A. Jayalakshmi (heroine of AVM’s Naam Iruvar) and two others. NSK’s fame grew after this release and he had a bright innings as director, producer and political enthusiast, soon emerging as a cult figure. Krishnan-Panju directed the film and Sahasranamam told this writer that many scenes featuring MGR who played a supportive role, were directed by NSK himself. Sahasranamam, a socially conscious person, formed his own troupe and staged plays conveying reformist messages. Paithiakaaran was one such early effort of his. The play staged at the famous, but now non-existent, Wall Tax Theatre (known to local Tamils as ‘Othavaadai Kootthu Kotta’!) became a success after T. A. Mathuram came out of a self-imposed exile following NSK’s imprisonment and played the lead role. Her mere presence made the play a box-office success. It was then the decision to make it into a movie was taken. The sadly forgotten South Indian film pioneer S. Soundararajan (Tamil Nadu Talkies) financed the venture mainly because of his friendship with Krishnan-Mathuram. Remembered for: Being the successful comeback vehicle of N. S. Krishnan after his release from prison, his famous song about life in prison, and the film’s socially reformist theme.

A courtesan (Anjali Devi) comes to a palace and gets involved with the king (Serukalathur Sama), plotting to kill him and usurp the throne. The king survives the assassination attempt and flees. He returns, disguised as a sage and tales a position in her court. His son Karikalan (MG Ramachandran), saved by the commandant, grows up as Robin Hood type of do-gooder, protector of the oppressed and who organizez them against the courtesan. After much royal intrigue and sword play, the sage exposes the courtesan in front of the people. She dies of shock while the prince marries the commandant’s daughter (Madhuri Devi).

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Around 1946 Jupiter Somu asked A. S. A. Sami to develop a screenplay which he could direct himself. Sami worked on a folklore story into which he wove many elements of popular appeal...Arabian Nights… The Invisible Man… other folk tales of our own land, he wove them all into a screen story. When Somu had made it clear to Sami that as he was raw and untried talent as a director, he would have to work only with artistes on Jupiter's monthly roles and not the big names with high price tags. But, much to Sami's surprise the Jupiter boss came out with other ideas after he had read the screenplay. He felt it was too good to be made with small fry studio staff artistes. For the hero and heroine he suggested P. U. Chinnappa and T. R. Rajakumari, big names of the day. In fact, Somu gave the name of that actress for the title of the proposed film 'Rajakumari'!After some effort Sami persuaded his boss to let him make the picture as decided earlier with small artistes. To play the title role Malathi was chosen. An import from the Telugu screen pretty Malathi was a Vauhini product who had made her name in B. N. Reddi's classic 'Sumangali'. A protegee of K. V. Reddi, she had acted in Jupiter's 'Sri Murugan' as Parvathi with MGR as Shiva.

Who would play the hero? One man, on the studio rolls appeared to a possible choice. He had good physique, and handsome, athletic in movement. His classical dance number in 'Sri Murugan' had impressed many especially Sami. After much hesitation he was fixed to play the lead. The actor was M. G. Ramachandran, a great moment, not only in his life but also Indian Film History.

The producer had planned 'Rajakumari' as an 11,000- feet picture, and after about 7000 feet were shot, nobody was impressed. To Sami's shock, S. K. Mohideen suggested seriously to his partner Somu, that the picture be abandoned! Somu was caught in a dilemma. If the picture were abandoned the future of Sami and MGR would be ruined. Only another 4000 feet were to be made and if the final product was still bad it could be burnt once and for all. Jupiter Somu, an enterprising man, gave his okay to Sami to go ahead who had a couple of interesting, amusing experiences in the making of this picture.

One was with Thavamani Devi who had a dress (designed by her!) so lowed in front that it caused ripples on the set!The Sri Lankan charmer Thavamani Devi was cast as the vamp and to play a villain, another new man was brought in, an athletic gymnast and milk-vendor who would in later years create history in Indian cinema as one of the most successful producers of the country, M. M. A. Chinnappa Thevar, a legend in Indian Cinema.Nambiar, Balaiah, and Swaminathan, and 'Pulimoottai' Ramaswami gave good support.'Rajakumari' was released in 1947 and much to the surprise of Mohideen turned to be a big success! Cheaply made the profits were huge. Sami made a mark, and MGR was atlast a movie hero. The beginning of an astonishingly, amazing career of incredible success, a life of grand achievement that would be discussed for years to come.

Saturday, November 29, 2008

I found this picture on the Coming Attractions board at Chitra Talkies. My guess is that there is not a Tamil-speaker anywhere who wouldn't recognise him instantly. He is M. G. Ramachandran, known as MGR. MGR was an actor who used his immense popularity to become a successful politician. He became Chief Minister of the state of Tamil Nadu, of which Chennai is the capital, in which position he died in 1987.

Here is my summary of his movie Nan En Piranthen, "Why Was I Born?" (1972), one of the first Tamil movies I ever saw:MGR (who was 55 at the time) plays a man just returned from college. His face is pink with makeup, and every closeup is in soft-focus. He is the sum of all virtues. During the title song he persuades drunkards to stop drinking toddy, stops a gambling match, etc. He arrives at home to find that his family has become poor, because they have mortgaged everything to put him through college. He goes to the city to find a job.

Back at home, his evil sister-in-law keeps intercepting the mail and stealing the money that he sends, so she and MGR's family are evicted.

In the city MGR saves a child from being run over by a car. The driver of the car, an old friend who has become successful, gets him a good job and lets MGR use his house while he goes to Europe. Unfortunately the boss wants to hire a bachelor, so for the sake of his family MGR tells a lie! The boss has a daughter who is confined to a wheelchair by a psychosomatic illness. MGR cures the illness by singing to her, and she falls in love with him.After MGR's family is evicted they set out to search for him. Their clothes appear brand new, but are covered with large, neatly sewn patches in different colors, to indicate their poverty.The boss's daughter is kidnapped and threatened with a forced marriage. MGR saves her, confesses that he is already married, she persuades her father to forgive him, MGR is reunited with his family, and all ends happily.

One of the things this summary tells you is that marriage is at the centre of Indian culture. You cannot watch a movie or a TV show - or listen to many conversations - without quickly coming to the subject of marriage. A sample dialogue from a TV show might be: "Hello, how are you?" "How can you ask how I am? Don't you know I'm trying to get my daughter married?"The other thing this summary tells you is that MGR was the noblest of men. He made sure that the characters he played never had the slightest negative tone. In a country where people are obsessed with movies, this helped his political ambitions: people confused him with his character. In real life he made well-publicized gestures, like buying raincoats for cycle-rickshaw drivers during the monsoon, which also contributed to this image.Perhaps the most bizarre incident in MGR's life was right out of the movies: for reasons that I have never seen explained, M. R. Radha, who acted as a villain in many movies, including MGR's, shot him in the neck. MGR's speech was permanently affected, but his escape from death created a wave of sympathy which boosted his career.Manirathnam's beautiful Tamil film Iruvar told a fictionalised version of the story of MGR and his chief political rival. MGR's character was played by the Malayali actor Mohan Lal. The heroine was played by Hindi filmstar Aishwarya Rai, in her first film role.IruvarWhen I see a song from an old MGR movie on TV, it always makes me smile. He's so obviously counting the steps. Dancing was never his forte. At the end, the look of triumph on his face because he hasn't lost his balance makes me feel that I can keep mine too.

Thursday, November 27, 2008

In 1965, I joined the Independent Newspapers Ltd, as a freelance Reporter. The Newspaper office was located at Mihindu Mawatha, Colombo, and they published, Dawasa - the Sinhala morning Daily, Sun – the English morning daily, Weekend and Radha - a Tamil weekly. The Tamil weekly was edited by Nathan, who was earlier the Editor of the Tamil newspaper Thinakaran, published by the Lake House.In 1966, I was promoted as a Staff Reporter and in the same year the Company launched Dinapathy - the Tamil morning daily and Chinthamani - the weekly. S.T.Sivanayakam, who was at the time the Associate Editor of Virakesari was made the Chief Editor of Dinapathy, and K.K.Ratnasingham, the present Editor of Sudar Oli was the News Editor and Raja Ariaratnam, former Editor of Eelakesari, became the Editor of Chinthamani.In 1966, the newspaper company invited the South Indian matinee idol M.G.Ramachandran to Colombo. B.Sarojadevi who acted as heroin with him in many Tamil films, was also in his delegation that visited Colombo. The tour program of M.G.Ramachandran was arranged by our company and I was included on behalf of the newspaper group to accompany them in their visits.When I met M.G.Ramachandran for the first time in Colombo, I found him to be a very friendly person and I had the opportunity to be with him for more than 10 days, during the period he stayed in Colombo. He was taken to Jaffna, Batticaloa, Kandy and Nuwera Eliya. In Kandy, he told me that he was born in a Tea-estate in Kandy and he was very much excited by being in Kandy, his place of birth. He was named as Marudur Gopalan Ramachandran, a Malayalee by birth and was born on 17 January 1917, at Kandy. After the demise of Gopal Menon, his farther, he along with his elder brother Chakrapani and mother Satyabama, left Ceylon to Kumbakonam in South India. The widowed mother was unable to provide education either to his brother Chakrapani or to him. Ramachandran joined the Madurai Original Boys Drama company owned Kanadasamy Pillai. His first film debut was in 1935, a minor role in ‘Sathi Leelavathi.’ In 1945, he had his break and acted as the hero in the film ‘Rajakumari.’ This is how his life in the celluloid world began. When he visited Ceylon, he was one of the top leaders of the Dravida Munnetra Kalagam (DMK). When he left for Madras, he told me that, if I ever come to Madras, I should visit him. I never took that invitation seriously. I took that as the conventional parting courtesy words. Meanwhile, I learnt that there was an attempt on his life on 12 January 1967. He was shot by a fellow actor M.R.Radha and he suffered a bullet injury in his neck and was hospitalized. His picture with a bandage in the neck happened to be the biggest vote catcher in the 1967 elections for the DMK. He too got elected from the St.Thomas Mount constituency, by a big margin, from his hospital bed. In 1968, I toured with the Ceylon Cricket team (the name Sri Lanka came into existence after May 1972) to Madras, to play in the three day Gopalan Trophy match with the Tamil Nadu Cricket team. The team’s tour program started with a three day match with an Indian invitation team in Trichirapalli. While the match was on, suddenly there was some disturbances and I saw the spectatotors going towards one direction.I asked the Hari Baskar a high ranking IAS officer, who was seated next to our press box, the reason for the sudden distraction in the midst of the spectators. He told me that, M.G. Ramachandran has come to see the match for sometime and his fans are flocking him. That time, I remembered his invitation and told Hari Baskar about it. He advised me to send a note through his driver and I did accordingly. May be after thirty minutes, I saw a crowd moving towards the press box. In the midst of that crowd was M.G.Ramachandran, the unforgettable character. He came and hugged me and inquired about me. I told him that I came to India yesterday morning and would be in Madras after another three day match in Salem.In the evening after the close of play for the day, he came over to the hotel I was staying and I introduced him to our players and to the manager. He invited us for dinner, but we were unable to accept his kind invitation, as our program was already fixed by the Cricket board of Control. When we went to Madras, we were put up at the Victoria Hotel, Egmore. Here M.G.Ramachandran came and met us and invited all of us for a dinner at his Ramawaram Garden house. We all went and had a fine dinner. It was a memorable one for all of us. “M.G.R.” - he was popularly called and adored by millions all over, was the man of words and deed and I can’t forget about this gem of a person, with whom I happened to be in touch since for a very long time.

Monday, November 24, 2008

The idea of `bullet curing cancer’ incident in the latest magnum opus Dasavathaaram was in fact brought from the life of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and film icon M.G. Ramachandran (MGR), Kamal Hassan revealed in a press conference in Kochi on Monday, while attending a promo his latest film in which he enacted ten roles. "It was not just a fabricated tale. When MGR was shot in the neck, it was feared that it would affect his vocal chords," he said.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

M.N.Nambiar ( Manjeri Narayan Nambiar) March 7, 1919 — November 19, 2008), a veteran film actor in Tamil cinema, he has been in the film industry for more than 73 years. He is a veteran of theatre and considered a legend in cinema. He is acknowledged to be one of the oldest actors from the pre-war era who remains in the industry today. He remains humble despite having worked with seven generations of actors.His voice has been famous among the people ,

After becoming popular in Tamil films he started his own drama troupe called Nambiar Nataka Mandram. They staged two plays — `Kaviyin Kanavu' and a comedy play `Kalyana Supermarket.'

M.N. Nambiar is an ardent devotee of Sabarimala Sri Ayyappan. He has had a long association with the temple, and visited the shrine more than 65 years over the last half a century; this has led to him being called Maha Guruswamy.

Monday, November 17, 2008

MGR had acted in several of MK Thiagaraja Bagavathar's films. When he ws the CM he wanted to change the name of Tiruchy Kalai Arangu into Thiagaraja Bagavathar Kalai Arangu. The date was 2 October 1981. MGR was sceduled to appear at 11.30 in the morning. From 11.00 am onwards no song was played. At 11.30 MGR arrived in his car and alighteed. As he came out of his car this song was played "Vathanamey Chandra Bimbamo" to the thunderous applause and cheersing of the massive crowd there. MGR could not control his smile. He smiled and waved at the crowd. The crowd became more hysteric.

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Telugu Paper VARTHA has written about Thiru M.G.R,NTR and Shoban babu ,Titled as Maha Natullu(Maha nadigargal)

While shooting of Ulagam Sutrum Valiban ,thiru MGR did not pay,who ever worked for the film for excess budget of the movie .After finishing the movie and was released ,the first talk was the movie was a flop and had false reviews, but the film was a Major hit from the start.

Few days later at the time of release thiru M.G.R called everyone who worked for the film and his P.A asked everyone what is expectation of the payment of each of them wanted.

Everyone asked double of the payment (for eg : 1000Rs they asked for 2000Rs) ,they thought if they ask high atleast they will get half of the payment.

But the godly matinee idol thiru M.G.R offered Triple of the payment to everybody who work the film Ulagam Sutrum Valiban and M.G.R said "everybody deserves this , as you are like a family to me . ".

Sunday, October 12, 2008

When Thalaivar was in the acting stage he had a Chevrolet with white and green mix. It was having the number of 2248. Once when he became the Chief Minister he used green colored Ambassador with the number of TMX 4777. He never likes slow driving. He preferred the "Fast and Furious" way. His car dickey will always hav 100-200 oranges all the time. Since orange juices cleans the blood, chills the body and increases the digestive stamina, he drank only that. And moreover the juice has to be concentrated when given to him.

Friday, September 26, 2008

In 1953 with M.G.R.,P.S.Veerappa and Kasilingam, Kalaignar Karunanidhi also joined together to produce the film "Naam". This was the first film that came out under "Megala Pictures" banner. As the film was a failure this alliance of above-said people didn't continue.Those who see "Naam" film to-day would be astonished because that film in no way matches with the known image of M.G.R. M.G.R. acted in the role of a servant in the house of P.S.Veerappa. When Veerappa finds fault with M.G.R.'s work he hicks off M.G.R. with his legs, in a particular scene in that film. Thus M.G.R. being beaten by a villain is a very rare scene not to be seen in any other film. Such type of beating is that!.... M.G.R. could patiently bear with that. But would the fans accept it? In the later days, when the film was screened in the second run, the fans scolded P.S.Veerappa like anything.

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Mrs.Rani Krishnan, the Founder & Secretary of Annai Fathima Trust was working as a petition collector, who collects the petitions from the public and submit them to the gate security officer in charge of Thiru M.G.Ramachandran ,then former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.Mrs. Rani Krishnan worked there for 2 years.During her working period for the Chief Minister she always waited for an opportunity to express her desire to dedicate her life to the poor and the needy.Finally she got an opportunity to express her desires to the ruling Chief Minister Thiru M.G.Ramachandran who was amazed to see a young women with such a rare desire and he was very pleased to allocate her a place to start her career as a social worker.Hence the Kancheepuram District Collector allocated a place outside the city limit to establish the dream of Mrs. Rani Krishnan.Now just at the age of 20 Mrs. Rani Krishnan was given a task beyond her imagination as she always had a limited thoughts and now she has been provided a place which could accommodate more than 100 children.Now the fear within her to accomplish the dream grew more when she was not accepted by the village people at the early 80's.Mrs. Rani Krishnan started the Annai Fathima

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

When MGR Was the CM the Tigers issu in Sri Lanka was burning. In the song "Eh Naadodi.. poga venddum Ododi" in Anbe Vaa. there is a sparking line that MGR sings "Puliyai Paaar Nadayile.. Puyalai Par seyalie.. Purium Paar Mudivile.. Mirattinaal Padiyuma? Virattinaaal Mudiyuma?" This is a direct refernce to the invincible power of the tigers. So this song too had to be carefully played in All India Radio

In 1956 Mahadevi was being produced. Kannadasasn wrote a song for a park situation. The kathali would wait for a long time and sleep off. The kathalan would come later and rubs her face gently to wake her up. She wakes up to her shock. Then the song goes. "Naanandri Yaar varuvaar. Ilam Nangai Unai veru Yaar thoduvaar" MGR did not like this song. So Kannadasan replaced it with "Kan Moodum Velayilum kalai enne kalaiye". Kannadasan was wild with MGR. Several other pressures forced him to produce his own film.

Monday, September 8, 2008

The name MGR moved millions like a mantra. His transformation from an uncrowned monarch to an absolutely undisputed leader of the masses happened like magic. He could keep the masses on his side always and could win elections, even when he was hospitalised in an alien land. His glory was always at the zenith. Even years after his death on 24th December 1987, it continues to be so.

The masses loved him because he loved them. 'Good-natured; vallal' will invariably be the response that you would get, when you utter his name. And all of us know that it is not an exaggeration. He was known for his humanity and love for fellow human beings. The following incident is only one of thousands of others, when his good nature came to the fore.

One of the technicians on the sets of Urimai Kural got the message of the death of his mother. He informed MGR and was about to leave for performing the last rites. MGR was moved to tears. He held the technician by his hand and consoled him. His quality of helping the distressed surfaced immediately and gave Rs.10,000/- to meet the expenses. The technician hesitated. 'Please give me this opportunity of partaking in your grief. I am doing this as a matter of filial duty to your mother,' said MGR. The technician was moved to tears. Was it due to this nice and timely gesture and the kindest of words or was it due to his personal loss, is anybody's guess.

Years rolled past and MGR became the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. The same technician had come to see him. MGR was leaving for the Secretariat, in his car. There was a big crowd at the gate and the technician could not reach him. The car had already started rolling. Fortunately, MGR chanced to see him and stopped the car. He called him to his side. The technician handed him an invitation for his son's marriage and requested his presence. MGR was all smiles and assured him that he would attend, if time permitted. He gave him a bag as the car accelerated. The technician could not believe his eyes when he saw that it contained one lakh! After all, he came to meet MGR and invite him. Nothing more than that. He did not even imagine that he would receive such a huge amount. He was ever more grateful when MGR attended the marriage to bless the couple.His colourful life was full of such incidents. He believed strongly in helping the masses, the oppressed and the distressed. The reason why he is loved by the masses and even worshipped. Kind-heartedness and love for fellow human beings are becoming rare qualities. No wonder his memory is celebrated to this day.

One day, our late chief minister M G Ramachandran called me over and asked me to sing the song 'Vizhiye Kadhai Ezhudhu'. I was elated and thrilled. My happiness doubled when the song became a hit.MGR is a mahaan. I came to know about him at a later stage. He not only gave importance to music but more to the art itself. His character was such that he turned even his foes into friends. For example, at a time when he had difference of opinion with Kannadasan politically, he was not satisfied with the lyrics for a particular song. Finally, he himself suggested that Kannadasan be called to write the lyrics. Others around him were hesitant but MGR was firm. He told them that Kannadasan had no equal and asked them to approach him for the lyrics. Kannadasan also obliged and the song was 'Odum Megangale' for the film 'Aayirathil Oruvan'. Enmity vanished... and art gained importance.

Monday, September 1, 2008

While I was in final phase of writing down how Google Search Engine helped me to increase the traffic, and in the leisure I was reading Mannathi Mannan MGR magazine in that an article touched my heart, my eyes glistened. Here is the article:A temple for MGR was erected by Kantha Srinivasan in the campus of the High Court of Madras, in the year 1984.She is now 50 years old, her occupation was selling flowers, cool drinks in the High Court campus. Kantha Srinivasan and her family are faithful MGR devotees. She says MGR is her God. She has seen MGR thrice in her life time.

On one occasion in a meeting Kantha Srinivasan touched MGR and gave him a Cool drink. MGR drank half of the content and handed over the remaining to her, which she drank in front of him, and MGR smiled back she was in tears and uncontrollable

In the end of 1984 MGR was admitted in Apollo Hospital like thousands of MGR fans she and her husband also stranded in front of the Hospital to know the condition of her God. She also prayed like others but she did not stop with prayers, she went on to erect a shrine on 19.12.1984 with help from Kalikambal temple priest. And the temple was named as "Neethi Karumariamman Alayam" and placed a MGR photo inside the sanctum. She along with others started to pray regularly. MGR fans prayer was answered MGR returned safely to India and took charge as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for the 3rd time. Returning to the Office MGR thanked all his Fans and well wishers for their prayers.

After MGR left Earth, Kantha Srinivasan performs special prayers and functions on MGR birth day also. She is eager to erect a Idol of MGR inside the sanctum, and has a plan to consecrate the shrine by Amma (Jayalalithaa).

Is MGR dead? I think not, he is still living in the hearts of poor. There is no end to MGR's fame, his fame will last to infinity. There is no end to MGR.

Long Live MGR's fame.The Guardian of the Downtrodden and Oppressed.God of the Poor.Hope for the downhearted.LONG LIVE MGR.

Sunday, August 31, 2008

The movie meant everything to MGR and he invested heavily on the project. Justifying his decision to produce the movie himself.MGR wanted the best and got it too. The amounts that were being expended towards the project were simply mind-blowing. The industry was agog with speculation at MGR nonchalantly putting all his eggs in this basket. His well-wishers were filled with anxiety, for if the movie did not fare well, MGR would be facing financial ruin. Commenting wryly on the title, MGR is said to have confessed that if the movie did well, he would be a King; if it flopped, he would be a homeless nomad. The movie was some years in the making . MGR had initially requested the brilliant K. Ramnoth to direct the movie, and the venerable veteran had accepted the offer with pleasure. But fate willed otherwise- K. Ramnoth passed away on 4th Octoer 1956. Not wanting to give the responsibility to anyone else, MGR took upon himself the responsibility of directing the movie. All dedicated members of MGR’s entourage were put to work night and day on the project. With characteristic foresight, MGR ensured that no other movie of his was released in 1958, so that his fans would wait eagerly for ‘Naadodi Mannan’ and ensure its success. His last movie immediately preceding ‘Mahadevi’ was released on 22nd November 1957 and his next movie after ‘Naadodi Mannan’ was ‘Thaai magalukku kattiya thaali’, released on 31st December 1959. He put all other projects on hold, so that he could devote all his time and attention for ‘Naadodi Mannan’.

Thursday, August 28, 2008

MGR was being entirely truthful when he declared that his ‘Naadodi Mannan’ was not a scene-by-scene adaptation of ‘The Prisoner of Zenda’. While at Calcutta in 1938 where he was acting in ‘maaya machindra’ for Metropolitan Pictures, MGR had watched the movie adaptation of Justin Huntly McCarthy’s stage play ‘If I Were King’. The movie and its catchy title made a lasting impact on MGR. Another English movie that MGR found inspiring was ‘Viva Zapata’ (1952). Marlon Brando playing the role of Mexican revolutionary Emilinao Zapata who defies the tyrant president Porfirio Diaz stirred MGR’s imagination to great lengths.

MGR made his crew consisting of R.M. Veerappan, Vidwan V. Lakshmanan and S.K.T. Sami watch the three English movies and gave them his suggestions regarding the outline he had in mind. Several brainstorming sessions later, the team came up with an imaginative admixture of the three stories, tailoring it skillfully to suit the Indian context.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

One morning people woke up to find the front page of ‘dhina thandhi’ bearing two advertisements side by side that caused ripples all over the state- they were for two proposed remakes of the Modern Theaters’ classic ‘uththama puththiran’. This 1940 blockbuster was now suddenly in great demand- both MGR and Sivaji Ganesan were interested in donning the dual roles that had propelled P.U.Chinnappa to instant stardom. MGR intended to produce it himself under his Emgeeyaar Pictures banner. As for Sivaji, Sridhar spearheaded the movie backed by Venus Pictures. And in the end, it was Venus Pictures who succeeded in securing the rights to the story (itself an adaptation of ‘The Man in the Iron Mask’) from Modern Theaters and went on to make the movie with Sivaji Ganesan.However, though MGR lost out to Venus Pictures, he did not give up the idea of playing a double role. Then there came an advertisement in the papers heralding the making of ‘Naadodi Mannan’.

MGR had to face a hurdle here again,the advertisement had barely appeared when there came a rival advertisement announcing that Bharani Pictures had also embarked on an adaptation of ‘The Prisoner of Zenda’. MGR and Bhanumati spoke to each other, each of them requesting the other to give up the project. MGR explained to Bhanumati how much the project meant to him and confided to her that he had pinned all his hopes on ‘Naadodi Mannan’.

Saturday, August 23, 2008

MGR, along with his brother M.G. Chakrapani set up a company called ‘MGR Productions’. Their first project was titled ‘vidivelli’, to be scripted by M. Karunanidhi. However due to various reasons of Karunanidhi’s imprisonment for participating in the Kallakkudi protest, the project had to be shelved. “MGR Productions’ was soon wound up and MGR and his brother M.G.Chakrapani Started ‘MGR Naadaga Mandram’ and took to producing and acting in stage plays.

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Figuring in this list is the famous Bangra beat in ‘Kudiyiruntha Koil’ (Aadaludan Padalai Kettu Rasippathilethan Sugam ... Sugam) featuring L.Vijayalakshmi and M.G.Ramachandran.

On her Bangra dance with MGR in ‘Kudiyiruntha Koil’, she said: “You know... I am yet to receive my payment for the dance. Bangra sequence was new to Tamil movies then. Chopraji master had introduced the dance to the State for the first time in that film. And that is why it is still a superhit. On the shooting day, MGR watched me dancing and was horrified. ‘Ayyayoh… I cannot match Viji’s fast movements…’ he said, and withdrew.”

“I saw him discussing something with Chopraji and the shooting was put off. The song sequence was shot after a month. I was told MGR had practised Bangra for a month to dance with me.”

Monday, August 18, 2008

MGR would also make sure that he will teach good manners and discipline to the masses through the movies. Therefore, in the characters he played in 120-odd movies, he would never smoke or take alcoholic drinks. On top of that, he would never physically or mentally abuse women. This self-imposed rigidity restricted the character roles he would play and movie critics ridiculed him for this 'un-natural style' of his characters. But MGR would have the last word. Ultimately, he claimed the respected honorific ‘vaathiyar’ (teacher) in its proper sense of the word.

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

It is a well known fact that MGR was born in Kandy for an Indian immigrant couple in 1917. Aroordhas had visited Kandy nearly six decades later, when the shooting for Pilot Premnath movie starring Sivaji Ganesan took place in Kandy.

“When the shooting for ‘Pilot Premnath’ movie took place in Kandy, I grapped a handful of soil from that city and filled it in a plastic vial. After returning to Chennai, I met MGR.‘Elder, I’m offering you a gift now, which othes might not have given it for you until now.”‘Is that so? May I know what is it?’‘Will you open your palm?’[MGR] offered his palm.I placed that particular plastic vial in his sandal wood-colored palm.‘What’s this? Soil?’‘Yes of course. This is your birth soil. I collected this from Kandy, and brought it especially for you’, I explained. When MGR heard this, he became so emotional and touched both his eyes with that vial.He opened the lid of the vial. Like picking the holy ash (viboothi), he pinched a little of the soil by his thumb and index finger, and placed it in his mouth. Then he applied a little soil onto his head as well.I saw both his eyes were welled [with tears]. Like a child, he asked me, ‘Can I keep this vial?’I replied, ‘Elder, what are you talking? I brought this especially for you.’‘Thank you. I’ll keep this gift forever with care.’ he said and grapped my hands.”

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Chennai July 16: Twenty days after an exclusive revelation to this newspaper that the will of MGR was a forgery, the nephews and nieces of late chief minister MGR said the forgery was done by V.N. Janaki, third wife of the late leader. They have given documentary proof for their earlier claim that the property of Janaki at Arcot Road in Chennai (now MGR memorial) was deliberately included in the “forged” will. “As V.N. Janaki cannot lay claim to the property of our chithappa (father’s younger brother) legally, she forged the will for the benefit of her cousin brother’s (Mr Narayanan) daughters and in-laws who now occupy the Ramavaram garden house of MGR,” said M. C Sugumar, M. C. Chandran, M.C Vijayalakshmi Venugopal and M.C.Rajendran, the sons and daughter of MGR’s only elder brother M.G. Chakkarapani.The 1981 sale deed copy of the Arcot Road property mentions Smt.V.N.Janaki, residing at MGR gardens, Madras-84 as the purchaser. “The document does not refer to her as wife of MGR. As Ms Janaki’s legal status could have become a hurdle in transferring MGR’s property, she forged the will with the help of some close relatives and advisors,” they said. Mr Rajendran who visited Ramavaram garden house a day before the death of the late leader said, “Our elder brother M.C. Ramamurthy visited MGR on December 23 morning in 1987.When MGR asked Janaki for a “document” in his presence, she refused to give it. MGR and Janaki had an argument over that. I went there immediately after that and was told by Janaki that she left MGR unattended after the argument.” The only blood relatives of the late chief minister claimed there had been attempts to sell the Ramavaram garden house in the last three months. Even as no progress was made in the alleged murder over the Rs 250 crore MGR property after 40 days of the incident, the claim of close relatives of MGR that the will was forged by Janaki MGR might come as a shock for the loyalists and followers of the late leader. “We are the only legal heirs of MGR. Nobody could challenge our claim that the will was forged even after 20 days of making it public. We will initiate criminal and civil proceedings against those enjoying the property of chithappa (MGR) now. Our family will seek protection from the Chennai Commissioner of Police and the DGP before moving the Court,” said the siblings.